Marginal man, the tether of tradition, and intentional social system therapy.

The concept of marginal man and his relationship to traditional society is explored as a background for presenting the theory of intentional social system therapy and description of the "In-Vivo Therapeutic Community through Task Groups" project, which involves a particular subgroup of marginal man, the hospitalized mental patient. Concepts and approaches evolving out of work with this subgroup are presented and discussed in order to throw light on the possibilities of using the experiences in the mental hospital in other societal organizations.